Melissa & Doug

Melissa and Doug knew in their early 20´s they wanted to create meaningful products for children. They built their company from the ground up by starting with developing their first product themselves and borrowing Doug´s father’s car for deliveries. As the business grows, so does their family. Melissa and Doug now have 6 kids who all have tested the company’s products!

For more than a decade, Melissa & Doug focused solely on creating wooden puzzles, over 1,000 styles in total! They decided it was time to reinvent wooden toys and make them more creative and fun. Toys that don’t just look pretty on a shelf, but also give young children countless ways to play!

Photo: @Laura.siew

Melissa & Doug take pride in conceptualizing every product at their offices in Connecticut, hand-making each prototype until they get it just right, before bringing them to the factory for production. Knowing that kids naturally gravitate to play that imitates adult behaviors, Melissa and Doug develop a pretend play line of delicacies, designed to look just like the food Mom and Dad buy at the grocery store!

 There was a time not so long ago when childhood offered the space and freedom for children to explore their world. To be curious. To be creative. To be bold. To be bored. To just . . . be. Today, our overstimulated and overscheduled children are using their imaginations less than ever. It’s a crisis in the making. And it’s why Melissa & Doug is committed to making products that inspire creative thinking and encourage kids to see new possibilities. It’s also why the American Academy of Pediatrics chose to join forces with the brand to champion the health benefits of open-ended play.

Based: Wilton, Connecticut, USA

Ships to: USA

Products: Sustainable toys that inspire creative thinking and encourage kids to see new possibilities.

Mission: To provide a launch pad to ignite imagination and a sense of wonder in all children so they can discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose.

URL: Melissa & Doug

Main photo: @mrs.spen

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